Outtakes
Electro rockers to play at Fringe
Quirky, cool and arty international acts don't grace our shores very often, but judging by the turnout at the recent show by Swedish loungsters Koop, there's obviously a hungry market out there for such sounds.
Many of the hipsters who attended that show at Western Market will probably be found at an upcoming gig by groovy Franco-Finnish duo the Penelopes, who describe their sound as somewhere between primitive constructivism inspired by post-punk, synthetic disco and German electro-tech.
With a taste for vintage electronic instruments and a passion for compound melodies, the Penelopes (below) take their cue from influential 1980s labels such as Mute, Factory and 4AD, sitting somewhere on the fence between electronic and rock. They say their stage show is influenced by the theatrics of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, adhering to a melodramatic tradition close to cabaret.
Sound interesting? Catch them at the December 1 HK Live! at the Fringe Club in Central, with support coming in the form of local post-punkers the Yours, and cute pop-punk outfit My Little Airport.
Meanwhile, HK Live! will be marking their second birthday on January 6, when the best bands to have taken part in the series of live music shows during the past two years will be featured at a sonic showcase spread over the entire ground floor of the Fringe Club.
Let FM3 expand your mind
Is it art masquerading as music or music masquerading as art? Electronic Beijing act FM3 have mesmerised audiences around the world for years with their soaring sonic canvasses, but local audiences have had few chances to experience them live.
Best known for their Buddha Machine, a dinky plastic radio-style device that plays hypnotic ambient loops, the duo of Christiaan Virant and Zhang Jian are considered China's main electronic music pioneers.
DJ Premier coming to Dragon-i
You can say what you like about Dragon-i but there's no denying it's got the market sewn up for quality hip hop.
The club recently hosted famed DJs Grandmaster Flash and Cash Money, and now another legend of the genre is due to grace the club's decks in the form of Gang Starr member DJ Premier.
Born Christopher Edward Martin, Premier was named by The Source magazine as one of the five greatest producers in hip hop history, and his quest for the perfect beats sourced from obscure funk and soul records was chronicled in the excellent hip hop documentary Scratch in 2001.
As a DJ he's also up there with the best, serving as the man behind the turntables in the Gang Starr duo, which he founded with MC Guru in 1987. Witness his skills next Wednesday from 11pm, with door tickets costing HK$150.
